Inheritance
And if you belong to Christ, you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.
(Galatians 3:29)
When we were packing our belongings, I re-discovered a tufted armchair from my grandparents that had been tucked away in the attic. This olive-green chair had seen better days and needed to be reupholstered. Still, when I sit in it I am transported back to moments like: sitting in front of this chair while my grandfather braided my hair; watching “Little House on the Prairie” with my grandparents; posing on my wedding day with my parents and sister for a family portrait; holding my newborn son; conversing with God in prayer; and much more. This chair is an inheritance from my grandparents to my parents, to me, connecting one generation to the next.
I have a deep connection to memories and people through this chair. But I know that if I want this chair for the future, I will need to reupholster it so that future generations may continue to connect to the past as well as develop future memories. I cannot leave it as it is because it will continue to deteriorate, and it will be unusable. I am excited about the new possibilities for the chair – what color should it be now? What texture of material? What color do I want the wood portions to be? The possibilities seem endless for a new beginning for this chair!
Likewise, as we move through and out of this time of the pandemic, as a people of God, how do we honor who we were, and how do we embrace a newness for our future? How do we continue to claim our inheritance as children of God? What are the possibilities?
Now is the time, to plan, dream, vision, be, and do. It is time to claim our inheritance as children of God with all its potential and possibilities. “God grant us wisdom. God grant us courage (“God of Grace and God of Glory”). Amen.